After a brief overnight pause, the rupee climbed to a new 38-month peak against dollar early on Tuesday, driven up by robust foreign fund inflows, exports proceeds and non-resident Indian remittances.

In hectic trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market in Mumbai this morning, the rupee breached the crucial 45.40-dollar barrier and touched 45.36/37, buoyed by strong trade and capital inflows, a dealer said.

The rupee opened on a firm footing at 45.40/42 per dollar, higher from Monday's finish of 45.43/44 per dollar.

Sustained heavy foreign fund inflows continued to drive the rupee to a new high, helped partly by a recurring weak dollar against major global currencies in overseas business, a forex dealer said.

However, the central bank intervention through spot dollar purchases from state-run banks will possibly arrest the sharp rise, he added.